Peter the Great was a very important man to Russia. He looked at his country and realizing how backwards everything was, he set his life on bringing it up to Modern European standards. When Peter made a decision he didn't rest until he had done what he set out to do. His ways were intelligent yet obvious; gain more coastline, open up trade routes, bring in knowledgeable people, and to educate the people of Russia. His life was dedicated to modernizing his people and their living conditions. One thing that was not consistent in the resources that I used was what Peter's intentions really were. The video on Peter the Great seemed to infer that Peter wanted to modernize Russia, and to do this he needed to strengthen his army and create a navy. The class text book on the other hand implies that Peter's main goal was to create a strong and powerful army, and that the 'westernization' of Russia was a byproduct of that.
Peter I, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias (...
English: Fleet of Peter the Great (1909) by Eugene...
A statue of Peter I working incognito at a Dutch w...My third source, Infopedia (computer encyclopedia) stated that the modernization of Russia included the creation of an army capable of contending with the western world. Another point that the video stressed which the text book and the encyclopedia did not was the opposition that Peter faced from Russian traditionalist church followers. Also, Peter's stepsister was only mentioned in the video viewed in class.
Peter Alexeevich, later to be known as Peter the Great, was born on May 30, 1672. He was the fourteenth child of his mother, although not all of them had lived past infancy. He was raised by a nurse although he knew his mother and she made herself a part of his childhood. Peter was spoiled rotten as the son of the czar. Around the time of Peter's birth Russia...